Online content marketplace Mena.tv launches crowdfunding drive

Mena.tv, an online content marketplace for the Middle East & North Africa region, has launched an offer of shares in the business through the global equity crowdfunding platform Eureeca.com. The goal is to raise money from individuals rather than companies, with investments as low as $500 accepted. The business is seeking to raise in excess of $350,000 and is anticipating the share issue to be strongly subscribed, following an expression of interest campaign conducted last month which revealed there is investor interest well in excess of $500,000.

Nick Grande

The mena.tv platform was established to accelerate the billion-dollar MENA B2B market in premium TV content, by helping thousands of buyers and sellers find each other, bridge language barriers and create trust and transparency. Over 630 content buyers have so far registered with the platform, representing close to half the market. Major international vendors, such as Discovery and Viacom Comedy Central, are among the 40 or so clients showcasing their content on mena.tv. According to their business plan, mena.tv aims for that number to grow to over 1,000 over the next five years, as more and more businesses seek to leverage cost-effective market access.

“We are now at a crucial stage,” said founder and CEO Nick Grande. “We want to make ‘checking in’ an essential part of the day for every content professional in the region – even if it’s just to respond to a message from another member. To achieve this, we need to invest in our platform and strengthen our marketplace operations.”

Rather than targeting venture capital investors with its initial raise, mena.tv is focusing instead on the TV industry itself. Grande explained: “We want our users to benefit directly from our growth. As shareholders, they will evangelise the platform and drive network effects much faster than conventional marketing.”

The raise is open to individual investors via the link http://bit.ly/menatvINVEST or by emailing invest@mena.tv. The campaign page indicates that early access discounts on equity starting from 20% are available on a first come, first served basis.